Love condemns axing of Northam - Pithara Rd upgrade

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Member for Moore Shane Love MLA has widely condemned the Labor Government’s decision not to fund the upgrade of the Northam – Pithara Road.

The upgrade had been signed off by the last Government with $18.41 million Royalties for Regions funding allocated last December.

Mr Love said there was a compelling case for the upgrade of the road from a safety and an economic perspective.

“The northern section of this road between Pithara and Ballidu has been labelled by some as the worst road in the Wheatbelt,” he said. “It is barely the width of a decent sized truck and the drop off from the side of the bitumen is steep.

“I have heard numerous stories of people narrowly avoiding accidents.”

Mr Love said the upgrade would have made a huge difference to road freight in the district and would have ensured that the length of the road was developed with a RAV 7 rating.

“There is just 25km of the Northam – Pithara Road that needs to be brought up to RAV 7 standard, allowing it to be an important connecting route that would shave 142km off the trip,” Mr Love added.

“Instead we have a disgraceful rabbit track.”

Mr Love said an upgrade of the Northam Pithara Road would have been of wider benefit, allowing for the efficient transfer of freight from east-west routes to the north, alleviating the need to enter the bottleneck that is the Metropolitan area, where loads have to be broken up.

“This was the opportunity to alleviate the issue of moving heavy transport without having to go through Perth,” Mr Love added. “The works were viewed as a priority, providing an important north south link for road freight, connecting the Great Northern Highway and the Great Eastern Highway.”